The Dragon's Heart, And The Broken Rose RWBY Part Four
by AlucardJenkins
Summary: This story is my take on how Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long began their relationship. Commissioned By: canonseeker 'Eren N.'* I hope this turns out to be the story you are hoping for.


~The Dragon's Heart, And The Broken Rose~

By: AlucardJenkins ~Devin V.

Part Four: Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned

Many students look on in fear for what they are witnessing. Their professor is face to face with three fierce grimm. A Beowolf, a Boarbatusk, and an Ursa!

"Is he crazy!?" A student muttered loudly.

"What happens if he can't take them on?" Another student said in a worried tone.

Taiyang stands still in a slight battle stance, allowing the three Grimm to circle around him. The young faunus girl looked on with a hand slightly to her mouth in a frightened manner, her eyes following the Grimms movement around Taiyang.

Tai readies himself more, looking straight at the Beowolf. The fierce Grimm still clearly angry from its first encounter with Tai.

"Come on then little guy, I'll give you a free try at me!" He taunts.

Before the Beowolf can react to his taunt, the Boarbatusk charged at Tai from behind. Many students gasped at the sight. Tai, without hesitation, allowed the grimm to get just close enough to him before turning to grab both of the sharp tusks of the grimm. He braced himself for the force of its charge, and stopped the Boarbatusk right in its tracks.

"I wasn't asking you!" He shouts.

The Beowolf charged at Tai quickly. He noticed the Ursa in the corner of his eye, ready to do the same. He let out a small laugh as he uses his strength to hold off the Boarbatusk still.

"All three of you at once huh? Making me work for this demonstration I see!" He shouts.

The Beowolf jumps into the air, leaping right at Tai. Its mouth wide, ready to bite right into his left shoulder. Many students can be heard gasping, thinking they might witness their professor die. Tai lets out a small laugh again, then lets go of the Boarbatusk, causing it to jolt forward a bit. With the Beowolf almost arms length away, Tai slightly side-steps away from the Boarbatusk and the Beowolf. He leaps into the air slightly, then drives a right elbow into the spine of the Beowolf. The force of the hit causes the Beowolf to fly downward, sternum first, into the skull of the Boarbatusk. The Boarbatusks body slammed right into the ground from the force.

Taiyang lands on his feet, but quickly turns to see the Ursa right behind him, swiping a massive clawed paw at him. He easily ducks under it, then swiftly uppercuts the Grimm in the gut. His force managed to slightly lift the massive Grimm off the ground. As it lands, it is met with a powerful roundhouse kick to the face, causing it to spin around and collapse on the ground.

Tai manages to catch his breath a bit, noticing the Boarbatusk and the Beowolf starting to regain their composure. He turns a bit to notice the Ursa as well, was starting to get back up.

"Time to end the fun." He says softly to himself.

In and instant, the Boarbatusk uses its great speed, and charges Tai, ready to ram right into him. The Beowolf quickly followed behind. Tai paid no mind to the Ursa for now, and readied himself for the oncoming charge. The Boarbatusk then rolled itself up in a ball form, gaining immense speed and spinning rapidly as it charges.

"I see." Tai said to himself.

He steps back, only a little, and unreadies his stance. The Boarbatusk gets close to him almost in an instant, but Tai was not fazed. He immediately straight kicked upwards at the spinning Grimm, managing to time the kick just right to hit the Grimm in the jaw. The Boarbatusk flipped backwards, straight into the air. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Beowolf was lunging at Tai. He reacted quick by jumping up and stepping on the Beowolf's head, to jump even higher, causing it to lose its momentum and fall to the ground. As Tai gained height, he grabbed onto the airborne Boarbatusk by its sharp tusks, and slammed it down face first into the Beowolf. The sharp tusks impaled the back and the head of it, causing the Beowolf to die instantly, and disintegrate.

"One down." He said softly.

Suddenly, he is met with a large swiping paw of the Ursa, which he blocks with both his forearms up. He slides back on his feet from the force of the hit. The Ursa stands straight up on its hind legs, ready to swipe at Tai again. He quickly reacts by lunging forward and hitting the Ursa in the stomach with a flurry of punches, finalizing it with a hard uppercut, sending the massive Grimm into the air. The Boarbatusk charges again from behind. Tai backflips over the Boarbatusk swiftly, grabbing it by the tusks once again. He manages to make the Boarbatusk flip with him and motion the tusks straight up. In an instant, The Ursa falls face first into the tusks, impaling itself right through. It dies and disintegrates before they can even land on the ground.

Tai lands on his feet while still holding onto the tusks, the Boarbatusk still above his head. He shifts his weight, and slams the Grimm into the ground by its tusks. The Boarbatusk practically bouncing off the ground from the power of Tai. He instantly grabs a single tusk, pulls hard, and rips it out of the Grimm. It squeals out in anger at first, only to be met with its own tusk being forced right into its face, killing it. Tai looks on as it disintegrates slowly.

Tai lets out a deep sigh, happy to be done with the demonstration. A slow build of clapping from the class ensues. He walks over to the desk and sits on top of it and waits until the clapping stops to speak.

"Now, can anyone tell me the point of that demonstration?" He asked loudly.

"Besides trying to show off?" A voice from the back says, followed by a few laughing students.

Taiyang looks towards the direction of the voice. The same male student from before making the remark. He was leaning back in his desk in a lax position. Tai looks down, and laughs a bit.

"Yes, even I can admit, sometimes the things we do can look a bit 'Flashy' in nature. However, I can humbly admit getting to cocky can be your downfall, or even your death." Tai answers.

"I was a student once too you know, I have learned well from my mistakes. That doesn't make me perfect though." He says, pausing to scan the classroom.

"Can anyone point out any mistakes I made during that demonstration?" He asked.

"I didn't make any on purpose, but I'm sure even some of you could point out things I could have done better." He states quickly.

He looks around the classroom for a few moments for any response, slightly disappointed by not having one yet.

"I see, well th-" He starts

"Um, Professor?" a voice says softly, just enough for him to hear. He looks toward it, the faunus girl slightly raising her hand.

"Yes Miss?" He asks with a smile.

"I-uh, I noticed that you allowed the Ursa to gain too much ground on you.. Um, you had your back turned to it for too long, which can be a uh... careless mistake, Professor." She says with hesitation in her voice. Tai gives back a smile.

"Very good observation Miss. Keeping my back turned away from the Ursa was a mistake indeed." He says, starting to laugh a bit.

"Believe me, I may have blocked its hit, but I can still feel it in my arms. Which brings me to answering my own question." He starts. He gets back up from the desk to start pacing slowly around the length of the classroom.

"The point of that demonstration was to show all of you that even facing some of the weaker types of Grimm, can be dangerous. Every encounter should be taken seriously, especially with multiple Grimm coming at you." Tai says, making brief eye contact with the arrogant boy, who then looks away quickly.

"I decided to face different species of Grimm at once to prove that you have to think before you act. To be honest, I would have rather faced off against ten Beowolfs than those three I faced just now." He pauses to look at the faunus girl now, she blushes a bit from the sudden eye contact. He looks away and continues to pace.

"Each one behaved differently, causing me to change my approach and think a little, lets say, out of the box. The Boarbatusks speed, the constant onslaught of the Beowolf, and the looming threat of the massive Ursa if it gets too close to me. All of these factors I had to consider." He laughs a little and stops pacing for a moment.

"I'm sure some of you are thinking I made that look easy, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. I've had plenty of experience dealing with these Grimm after all. That does not discount the fact that even the most experienced veteran Huntsman can make even a minor mistake that can cost them their life." He says, sighing.

"I've seen it happen first hand… It can humble even the most confident person to witness something like that." He says in a stern tone.

"Like your classmate here said, I did make the mistake of turning my back on the Ursa for to long. Besides blocking, who here can tell me what else saved me from taking a fatal blow?"

"Your 'aura' sir." The faunus girl answered quickly. Tai nods back to her, very pleased with her quick response.

"Very good Miss. Our aura is what protects us... Heals us… You must always be aware of your limits. Your aura can be the defining factor that saves your life from what should be a fatal hit. Always fight smart, it's crucial." He answers back.

"Now, who here has the capability to engage their aura? Please do not feel embarrassed if you can not, we all learn to engage it at different paces." He asks, starting to scan his sight around the classroom. Only a handful of students raise their hand, including the arrogant young boy. The faunus girl slowly raises her hand as well.

"Not bad. At this level, I did not expect to many of you, again, do not feel embarrassed." He said.

Tai looks towards the back of the room, Ozpin is still leaning against the wall, looking on intently and sipping his coffee. He does not make eye contact with him, then turns his attention back toward the students.

"I have a harder question for all of you now… How many of you have discovered your semblance?" He asked. He looks around the class, many students looking around at each other to see if a single one of them is going to raise a hand. Tai lets out a small assuring sigh.

"That's ok, again at your level, I did not exp-" He paused to see a single hand raised out of the vast amount of students.

"Would you look at that." He says softly to himself, the hand of the faunus girl raised slightly in view.

"Miss, you discovered your semblance? I must say I'm impressed." Tai says giving her a small smile.

"Th-thank you professor." She says, quickly retracting her hand into her lap with the other following. She slouched down into her seat a bit, feeling many eyes now on her. Her cheeks begin to become red.

"May I ask how it works?" Tai asked in a hopeful manner.

"I-uh...I.. I'm not to sure. I-I only recently discovered it professor." she answers softly.

"I see." Tai says, pausing for a moment.

"Then, may I asked how you discovered it? I've heard some interesting stories about how some Huntsman have discovered their semblances." He asked.

"Well… I was saving my little brother, from a Grimm attack professor." She answered.

"Very noble of you Miss, care to explain in more detail? He asked.

"I-uh" She starts, taking a very long pause. Tai noticed her visual embarrassment even more than before. He gives her a comforting smile.

"It's ok Miss, you don't have to explain if you don't want to." Tai said in an assuring tone.

"I won't go into to much detail about semblance, that's not what this class is for. However, I will note that all of you should embrace your semblance when you discover it. Your Semblance is unique to you and only you, and there is always more to it than you may even realize at first." He says, noticing many students looking at him as if to take his words to heart.

"Now, I have one more 'Demonstration' for all of you before class is over." He says, quickly running behind the large chalkboard again to push out another sheet covered crate.

"I'm sure all of you are aware that when you graduate from Signal you can move up to Beacon Academy, among others. With details I must spare you, you will form a team of four. They will be your partners through the remainder of your school life. In some aspects, you have no control over who your partners will be… Again, I can not share too many details on how teams are formed. You will have to wait to find that out someday." He explained.

"What was your team like?" A student suddenly asked.

"My team?" Tai answered, a bit surprised.

"Team STRQ, one of the best teams to come out of Beacon Academy in recent years. Consisting of Professor Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven and Qrow Branwen, and led by Summer Rose." A voice from the back of the classroom chimes in. Tai and many students turn back to see Ozpin starting to walk down towards Taiyang.

"Forgive my sudden intrusion of the class Professor Xiao Long, I thought I would be better suited to answer this question." Ozpin says as he approaches.

"As you wish Professor." Tai answers stepping back to give Ozpin center stage.

"Professor Xiao Long was part of one of the best teams to come out of Beacon. Team STRQ started off as a group of four very different personalities. Clearly, they clashed more often than not. In time, they learned to work together and mesh as one. The determined leadership of Summer Rose, the combat ability and strategy of Taiyang Xiao Long, and the swift tenacity of the Branwen siblings, all combined to become a formidable team. A team that formed an everlasting bond." Ozpin explained. He looked back to Tai.

"Isn't that correct Professor?" He asked.

"Y-yes Professor Ozpin." Tai said back with a stutter, not ready to answer. Ozpin turns his attention back to the class.

"When the day comes for you to form teams, there is a possibility you may not be with anyone you know personally." He starts.

"Professor Xiao Long was a student that showed arrogance and stubbornness in his academy days. I believe if it wasn't for the support of his teammates, he wouldn't be the man standing in front of all of you today." He says, looking back to Tai.

"Thank you Professor Ozpin." Tai says back.

"Do you still see your teammates Professor Xiao Long?" A student chimed in.

"Yes, almost on a daily basis. Qrow Branwen comes to visit me when he can, as he is busy on missions often. My leader, Summer Rose, is one of the most generous people I know. She is currently watching my daughter for me so I can be here to teach." He answered.

"What about the other one, Raven?" the same student asked.

"Raven.. She.." He starts.

"Raven and myself had a bit of a falling out, we haven't spoken or seen each other in some time now... She also happens to be the mother of my daughter, that my leader is looking after." He answered sternly to the student. Ozpin nods, and starts to make his way toward the back of the classroom again.

"All bonds work in different ways… I'll leave you to your class now." He says as he walks away.

Taiyang watches as Ozpin walks toward the back of the classroom. His mind starts to race with mixed emotions. `Why did she leave?' 'What could I have done differently?' he thought. 'I loved her, and she just… left me, with OUR child.' Flash images of Raven begin to show in his eyes everytime he blinked. He shook it off, and took a deep breath, trying to regain focus. Ozpin was now at the back of the classroom, looking on intently with the rest of the students.

"How long did I zone out for?" He said softly to himself. He walks over to the covered crate, placing a hand on it.

"Ok, back to business. This demonstration will be a bit different. I will not be the one fighting the Grimm in this crate, nor will it be ONE of you." He starts.

"The point of me bringing up teammates before was because all of you must learn to work together. So, I will be picking two individuals I want to see work together to face this Grimm." He says.

Many students sit up in the chairs firmly, anticipating to be picked, some already raising hands before Tai could even ask for it. He shakes his head in approval.

"I admire all who are raising their hands, but I must say that I will not be picking anyone who can not engage their aura. I'm sorry, but that is a safety concern I must consider. I will not step in on this fight unless I feel I need too. Putting someone in with no aura defeats that purpose, I hope you all understand that." He says sternly, watching a sea of hands slowly go down.

"I will add, that I do not know what type of Grimm is under this sheet. This helps with the unpredictability on how Grimm encounters can be. Plus, who I pick, MUST do this. Refusal is not an option. So to all of those raising your hand, it means nothing to me. So I ask all of you to put your hands down so I can see everyone clearly." He explains.

Scanning the classroom, he meets eyes of many hopeful students. Many of them smiling as they look him in the eyes. He continues to peer his glance around the students. 'They are all starting to blend together' He thought. He locks eyes with Ozpin suddenly, who is giving him a firm look. He knew at that moment what he must do.

"I want… you!" Tai yells out, pointing at the arrogant boy. The boy stands up and laughs a bit to himself.

"This time you won't catch me off guard." He states while walking down to the front of the classroom.

"We'll see about that young man. Now, for your partner." Tai says looking around the class again. Many hopeful eyes looking at him, some doing the exact opposite.

"You, can you join us down here Miss?" Tai says, pointing to the faunus girl. The Young boy turns his gaze toward the girl, shock and anger coming over him.

"What?! I don't want to team up with her!" He yells to Tai. The girl looks at Tai with concern and embarrassment.

"Professor, um.. Maybe you should reconsider." She says softly.

"My mind is made up Miss, please join your partner." Tai says sternly.

The girl stands up slowly and starts to make her way down to the front of the class. She keeps her wings close to her back, and her head down a bit, trying to not look at other students as she walks. She passes by Tai and stands next to the boy, who takes a small step away from her.

"Filthy faunus." he whispers to her. She looks away, her face red with anger and embarrassment.

"I want you to introduce yourselves to each other formally before we start this. Knowing each other's name will be useful if you must call out for help." Tai says.

"Fine… the name is Gage." The young boy says, looking at her.

"L-Lyra." She says softly back to him. Tai nods, reaching into both of his pockets with each hand.

"Lyra and Gage, One of you will get a weapon, the other will have nothing. Miss, in one of my hands is a coin. If you pick the one with the coin, you get the weapon." Tai says, holding out both of his clenched fists.

"Why does she get to choose?" Gage protests.

"Ever hear of ladies first?" Tai says back. Gage sulks and looks away.

Lyra hesitates, looking at each hand intently.

"Best choose quickly Miss. Class is almost over." Tai says with a reassuring smile. She nods, and quickly points to his left hand. He opens it slowly, revealing no coin.

"Tough break Lyra. Gage, there is a sword on the desk, and a shield if you wish to use that too." Tai says, motioning a nodded gesture toward the desk.

"Hmph, Just the sword is fine." He says, walking over to the desk to grab it.

"I'm sorry Lyra, you will have to be a bit more creative. I believe in you." Tai says to her softly.

"Both of you, go to the opposite side of the room, and stand next to each other. I will count you both in." Tai says, now walking over to the crate.

Lyra starts to walk away, catching up to Gage, who is playing with his sword, swinging it around. She ties her long black hair up into a ponytail.

"Why don't you use those wings of yours and fly away so that I can handle this." He says to her, still swinging the sword. She disregards what he said, and stands next to him.

Tai looks on from a small distance. He can see that Gage is starting to get to her. He reaches for the sheet, and the door underneath. Snarls and growling can be slightly heard.

"When I count to three, I will release whatever is under here. You two must work together to beat it. I will only step in if I feel I need to. Are you both ready?!" He yells to them.

"Let's get this over with, I'm tired of standing next to this faunus." Gage states, giving Lyra a mean stare.

"Y-yes Sir." She says back to Tai.

Both students ready themselves in a battle stance. Gage readies himself to charge with his sword, and Lyra spreads her wings out.

"Auras ready… Three.. Two.. One!" Tai yelled, ripping the sheet off. The crate door crashed down to the ground, followed by another Beowolf jumping out of it. Tai Jumped back quickly, not to distract the Grimm from its real opponents. It meets the gaze of the two students and begins to charge at them.

"Its mine!" Gage yells out, charging blindly at it.

He swings his sword right at its head, but is quickly met with the Beowolf's mouth wide open to bite right down onto the blade. It holds onto it, causing a tug of war between Gage and the Grimm. It pulls on the sword hard, causing him to lose his grip and fall. The Beowolf readies itself with a large swiping paw, its sharp claws glistening in the light of the classroom. Before it can land a hit on the prone boy, It is met with a swooping kick to the face from Lyra. The sudden kick causes it to lose its grip of the sword in its mouth, which falls to the ground next to Gage. He picks it up, and jumps back to his feet.

"I don't need you to help!" He yells at Lyra, who is flying low in the air.

"I just saved you! Why cant y-!" She starts, only to be met with a swiping paw of the Beowolf. She managed to block it, but the force of the hit sent her flying back, hitting the ground and sliding right into the wall.

"That looked like it hurt..." Tai said to himself softly, watching from a safe distance.

"Hey! Why don't you two focus on the real threat!" He yells to them.

Gage swings his sword at the Beowolf, hitting it one time on it's left shoulder. It growls at him, not fazed by the hit and lunges at him to try to bite again. Gage jumps back, and stabs his sword forward, aiming for the open mouth of the Grimm. Again, the Beowolf catches the sword in its jaws and locks it in place.

"Hmph, gotcha!" Gage yells out, letting go of the sword.

He flips forward, and heel kicks the Beowolf in the skull with his right foot, the force of his kicks stuns the Grimm, causing it to let go of the sword. Gage tries to force his kick downward more, but the Grimm was to strong. He landed awkwardly on his left foot, and collapsed to the ground. Taiyang looked on in a worried manner, he noticed Gages ankle looked as if it buckled from the landing.

"This… might not be good." Tai said to himself.

"D-Damn it! That hurt!" Gage said rubbing his ankle and reaching for the sword with his free hand. He managed to grab it but had to swiftly block an oncoming paw from the Beowolf. He rolled backward, and back to his feet. Stumbling a bit as he stood, and squinting in pain a bit. He looks back to see Lyra finally getting back to her feet, holding onto her left shoulder.

"Nice of you to finally get up from your nap faunus!" He yelled to her.

"I have a name, and you don't want my help anyway!" She said sternly to him as she regains her footing.

The Beowolf charged at Gage, leaping into the air slightly, trying to take him down. Gage blocks its bite once again with his sword held horizontally, his grip on the blade causing his hand to bleed slightly. The strength of the Beowolf forced him to the ground as it tries to get past his sword to bite him.

"Hm, his aura might be running low if he is starting to bleed like that." Tai said to himself.

In an instant, Lyra flew in and missile kicked the Beowolf off of Gage with immense force. It slides across the floor slightly, while Lyra falls to the ground herself, right at Gages feet. The Beowolf leaped back to its feet suddenly, and charged back at the prone students. Both of them rolled away in opposite directions, with the Beowolf leaping right in between where they were. It reacted quickly, back kicking Lyra in the stomach while she tried to get up, sending her back as she yelled out in slight pain. Gage looked on in slight concern for her, only to be met with a flurry of swipes from the Grimm, he blocked what he could but took one good hit to his right shoulder, causing him to drop his sword. The claws of the Beowolf slightly cut right through his academy uniform to slice him in the shoulder. He grabs hold of his shoulder as he falls to the ground in pain, blood started to show through his fingers as he held it. The Beowolf readied itself to bite right into him, Gage closed his eyes to embrace it.

"Oh No!" Tai said to himself ready to jump in to save him, only to stop himself at what he is witnessing.

"I-I don't believe it." he said out loud softly.

The Beowolf was lunging forward, but it was as if it was frozen still, a glow of energy around its body. Gage opened his eyes and looked up, to see the Beowolf inches away from him, unmoving. He peered his glance past it to see Lyra, standing up with both of her hands stretched out. Her hands glowing with what looked like a white light.

"Qui-quickly Gage! I'm using my aura to hold it in place! I cant hold it for long, kill it!" She yells out, falling to a knee.

He stared at her for a moment in shock and awe. The Beowolf started to stir, and show a bit of movement.

"Hurry, I'm losing it!" She yelled again.

Gage nods to her, grabbing his sword and jumping to his feet. The Beowolfs eyes looking right at Gage as it is motionless, and helpless. Gage Swiftly swings his sword right across the neck of the Grimm. Before it can even show decapitation, it disintegrates. The class room begins to clap for the students victory. Gage looked over toward Lyra. She has fallen to both knees now, and has both of her hands on the ground with her head down. He noticed she is breathing heavy. He rushed over to her side and knelt down by her.

"Hey, are you alright?" he said to her. She tries to catch her breath a bit before speaking.

"Yes.. yes, I think so." She says to him, still with her head down.

"What was that you just did?" He asked.

"My semblance… I can project my aura in a physical manner. I haven't…. perfected it yet, so it makes me a bit tired." She says, panting a bit has she speaks.

"How does that even work?" he questioned.

"From what I could observe, it looks like Miss Lyra can manipulate her aura to be like a weapon, or a shield." Taiyang chimes in, joining the students at their sides.

"Sort of, I can project it out pretty far. But the more I use, the more it takes away from myself." She says, sitting up onto her knees.

"So if you project all of it out, your body is left unprotected?" Gage asked.

"Yes, I was using all I had to hold back the Beowolf, If I were to be hit while doing that, I had no aura to protect me." She said. Tai lends out a hand to help both of them up.

"If you manage your aura, you will be a great defensive asset to your future team Lyra." Tai said to her.

"You really think so?" she asked, with a slight blush forming.

"Absolutely! If you can project out an aura shield for a teammate from an oncoming attack or stop Grimm dead in their tracks like that, who knows what else your Semblance could do!" He said.

The three of them are suddenly startled by a loud bell, signifying the end of the class. Students start to get up from their desks. Taiyang shifts his focus to them.

"I hope all of you learned a valuable lesson today students, enjoy the rest of your day!" He says turning his focus back to Gage and Lyra.

"Will both of you be needing a written note for being late to your next class, I assume you both would like to change and clean up a bit." He asked.

"No, this is actually my last class for the day" Gage said to him.

"I don't have another class for another hour, so I have some time." Lyra said.

"Oh that's perfect then." He says back, noticing all the students have left but the two remaining.

"Professor, I want to… apologize to you… for my behavior toward you before." Gage said, hesitating a bit. Tai looks at him in the eyes, and smiles.

"Its alright Gage, I was your age once too." He walks over to him, and leans down to his ear.

"There Is someone else who deserves it more than me, you know." Tai Whispers to him, tapping him on the shoulder reassuringly, and walking toward his desk. Gage lets out a deep sigh and looks at Lyra, who is untying her hair to let it down again.

"Hey, Fau-Lyra." He starts. She looks at him.

"Yes?" She says.

"I'm… sorry... For not accepting your help before, and, thank you for helping me the way you did." He says. He quickly looks at Taiyang, who is giving him a firm look to continue. He shifts his gaze back to Lyra who looks slightly confused and embarrassed at the same time.

"And… I'm sorry for the way I treated you at the start of class. I was... out of line." He says, lending out a hand.

"Please accept my apology, I... understand if you can not." He said looking her in the eyes.

Lyra looks down at his hand quickly, a blush of embarrassment forming at her cheeks. She looks towards Taiyang quickly, who gives her a small nod.

"I-uh…" she starts. She looks back at her wings, and lets out a sigh.

"You, hurt me… not just with what you did to me, but your harsh words go deeper than anything you could do to me." She said.

"I want you to promise me something." She said, looking at him intently.

"What is it?" He said, slightly retracting his extended hand.

"See me for ME, and not as just another faunus...please?" She asked, emotionally. Extending out her hand this time, but not grabbing his. Gage was stricken by her words, almost stunned.

"Lyra, I...I promise. And again, I'm sorry." He says, reaching for her hand to shake it. He grips it softly, while she gripped his back a bit tighter.

"I'm glad to hear that." She said back smiling.

Taiyang walks up to both students, and extends both of his closed hands out to each of them.

"Take these, both of you deserve it after that performance." He said to them, opening up his clenched fists with Lien in each hand.

"Money? For what?" Lyra asked looking at it.

"Get some lunch on me, please, I insist." Tai said urging them.

Both students take the Lien reluctantly, Tai looks up toward Ozpin, who was slowly making his way toward him.

"Thank you Professor!" Both students said in unison.

"Just, don't let any other students know I gave you both some money. Let's keep that a secret between us." Tai said giving them a small laugh. The students nod at him, and begin to walk out together.

"Miss! Your books!" Ozpin yelled out to Lyra, holding her books.

"Oh!" Lyra said, running to Ozpin to grab her books from him.

"I must say, you impressed me. You worked well with someone who just had a negative effect on you. Now, you just made a friend out of an enemy… even if you may not see that yet." Ozpin says to her.

"I-I'm not sure still, I've never really had any friends." Lyra says softly, looking away.

"Not too late to start Miss, after all-" Ozpin starts. Shifting his gaze behind her, she looks back as well to see Gage waiting at the door.

"He is waiting for you... Go enjoy the rest of your day Miss." He says. She smiles back to him and runs to the doorway to meet Gage, and walks out with him. Taiyang watches them leave, and smiles.

"Satisfied with your class today, Professor?" Ozpin asked.

"Very much Sir, though those two made me nervous." Tai said with a sigh.

"I commend your decision to pick those two, now you may have just formed a friendship." Ozpin said back to him. He walks over to the desk, and pushes things out of the way. He pulls out something from his coat pocket, and places it on the end of the desk.

"This is for you." He said, looking at Tai and stepping back.

Taiyang looks down at the object to see his name engraved in a small nameplate.

"Professor... Xiao Long." He reads out loud.

"Congratulations, you passed your evaluation." Ozpin states.

"Aha! I knew you could do it!" a loud voice says from the entry door. Taiyang and Ozpin look to see Professor Port walking in.

"Eavesdropping Professor?" Ozpin asked him.

"Just long enough to hear the good news!" Port says back. Both of them look at Taiyang, who was holding his nameplate, looking at it.

"Something wrong, Professor?" Ozpin asked him.

Taiyang, continues to look at the nameplate, ignoring Ozpin's question.

"Hahha, did we spell something wrong?" Port jokes.

"No.. its fine, perfect actually... It's just hard to believe." He starts. Ozpin and Port look on intently.

"I worked so hard for this... I Just want to make Yang proud of her father when she is older. I want her to have someone to look up to." Tai said, putting the nameplate down.

"If I'm going to be all she has, my choices are limited to making everything right for her." He said looking back up at them.

"If I may say, as a friend, your daughter will be immensely proud of you Tai. Why, I still remember the day you came to me asking how you could become a teacher's aid. I was shocked that YOU of all people wanted to start teaching instead of focusing on huntsman duties. You are doing everything you feel is right so that you can be there for your daughter." Port says.

"Raven may have left, but you have others that clearly care about you." He adds.

"I know, but I just can't fill that 'gap' that Raven should." Tai answered.

"Hm, yes, but if I recall, Miss Rose has been at your aid constantly." Port stated. Tai looked at him in a confused way.

"Seems to me she is trying to fill that 'gap'." Port said, stroking his moustache.

"As I said earlier, she has been skipping out on missions to help you." He adds.

"Yes, and knowing that now makes me feel bad asking her constantly. She is always one to never say 'no' to help her friends. She has been there for me since day one of Yangs birth, I mean, she helped deliver her after all." Tai said with a sigh.

"Now I'm starting to second guess this whole position, I'm not sure if I would even be able to do it now. I'd have to be here more often than not, and I don't want to keep asking Summer to watch Yang. It's not like I can ask Qrow to do it too." He explains.

"Don't give up all your hard work, I'm sure you will figure something out to make this position work Tai." Port said, reassuringly. Tai lets out a drawn-out sigh again.

"It's just a stressful thought." He starts, walking over to the desk to gather up his paperwork.

"I'm going to get some lunch myself, would you two like to join me?" Tai asked.

"I'd be happy too." Port says.

"I would not be opposed to join you both, but I have business back at Beacon. Professor Port, I expect to see you tomorrow at the academy to discuss your new position. As for you Professor Xiao Long, Port will be going over all the paperwork you will need to look over before you leave today." Ozpin says. He makes his way to the doorway, looking back to both professors.

"Congratulations again Taiyang, I am proud of your progress and expect great things out of you." He says, leaving the classroom.

Tai and Port look at eachother and let out a small laugh each.

"I assume he made you nervous the whole time he was here?" Port asked.

"You have NO idea." Tai responded with a laugh.

"Shall we get our lunch? We have a lot of work to do afterwards." Port asked.

"I'll meet you there, I need to get in contact with Summer to let her know I will be later than I anticipated." He responded.

Port nods at him, and leaves the classroom. Tai walks over to the desk and sits down on the edge of the desk itself, pulling out his scroll from his pocket. He pulls up Summers contact, and tries to call her, but has no signal coming from her scroll.

"Damn, must be the terrible reception at my house. That's what I get for living on an island I suppose." He says, reluctantly putting his scroll back in his pocket.

He picks up his nameplate again to look at it. He smiles while looking at it for a few moments before putting it back down. Getting up from the desk, he walks to the doorway and turns around to look around the entirety of the whole classroom.

"All of this is mine now… I hope I'm making the right decision." He says softly to himself.

"I'll make you proud, Yang." He says a bit louder to himself before leaving the classroom.

**Authors note: I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I have one more part planned for this story, with the high potential of a sixth part. That all depends on how I approach my fifth part, ideas for it are abundant. I wanted to take this opportunity to explain why I introduced two original characters in this part. At first I did not give them any names in part two, but i had the idea to write an original story based on students in Signal Academy in this same timeline, hence why I named them in this part. I have Ideas laid out for it, but at this time I have no name for the story. I can say it will be a First-Person story following Lyra and plan to have it start right after this part of THIS story. There will be familiar names that appear in it like Taiyang, Qrow, among others, But I wanted to give my take on what Students in Signal Academy have to go through before moving on to Beacon. I hope some of my readers look forward to seeing this come to light. Thank you to those who have been messaging me with support, it means a lot to me. Plus, to answer a question I have been getting alot, Yes, I will be working on "Blossoming" as well.**

~AlucardJenkins/ Devin V.


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